Shi Ming found the meal incredibly satisfying. It was the first thing that could be considered a proper meal since his rebirth into this world, far better than any hard, dry buns or compressed biscuits.
'If I become a captain in the future, the food will definitely be even better.'
Unfortunately, the only regret was that when he reached his chopsticks toward the can of beef for the third time, he found it was already empty.
Not a single piece of beef was left, only the thick gravy. Looking over, he saw the bald man next to him with a mouth glistening with grease, his cheeks puffed up like balloons.
'He was probably a starving ghost in his past life.'
After the hearty meal, the thirty-minute preparation time was up. The helmsman cranked up the power, and the drifting ship quickly sailed toward New Island. Standing on the deck, Shi Ming witnessed the vessel's speed for the first time—it was much faster than the small boat that had ferried them to and from the smaller island.
'I wonder what powers it.'
Truly worthy of being one of the 100,001 drifting ships built by staking everything on the world's most advanced technology.
Before they landed on the island, the captain had already rationally divided most of the crew. They were split into three teams.
First, the Hunting Party.
The Hunting Party was led by the captain himself, with First Mate Terim as the deputy leader. They were joined by fifteen members from the exploration team and the guide, "Scarface." They would head to the westernmost part of the island, which Scarface had described, don gas masks, and use gas bombs to hunt the so-called "broodmother."
Second, the Exploration Party.
The Exploration Party was still led by its captain, "Iron Tower." It consisted of most of the original team, twenty people in total, plus Shi Ming, who had drawn the resource distribution map. They were responsible for the manual labor: scavenging and transporting the island's resources, especially essentials for the drifting ship like fruit, minerals, and wood. It was crucial that the Exploration Party operated stealthily and did not create any major disturbances.
Third, the Logistics Party.
This team was composed of five members from the exploration team, the crew members remaining on the ship, and the other slaves. Their basic duty was to manage logistics, prevent unexpected situations, and guard the base camp.
The three teams each had their own tasks. The moment the drifting ship docked, they became as busy as a colony of ants.
"This map you drew is really good. The layout is clear. Have you studied cartography before?"
Captain Iron Tower asked Shi Ming as he looked at the resource distribution map in his hand.
"Captain, I know a little."
Shi Ming replied humbly.
'Are you kidding me? Drawing and analyzing maps is one of my basic skills. I've often had to decipher mission intelligence from incomplete or unclear maps. After seeing enough of them, you naturally pick it up.'
"This ore deposit is the closest. It's our first objective."
"Yes, sir."
Originally, Shi Ming had also been confused. 'How can there be ore on a tortoise's back? Is it really an island?' But after passing by again later and studying it for a while, he discovered that the place was actually a wound on the Black Tortoise Shell. Bodily fluids had seeped from the wound and reacted with the soil to form a type of crystal.
'This Black Tortoise... I have no idea what it went through before it fell asleep to get so covered in wounds.'
As for whether these crystals could be used as ore, Shi Ming didn't know.
But he didn't care about that. What he cared about was how to break away and act alone.
Keeping track of the time, after walking for about thirty-two minutes, Shi Ming and Iron Tower saw black crystals glittering in the distance.
They quickened their pace.
The exploration team members followed closely behind.
"Is this? Blood Crystal!!!"
"It's actually Blood Crystal! This is a huge score!"
Iron Tower approached the deposit. Before he could even get a closer look, he identified the nature of the black crystals and was overjoyed.
This was a type of crystal formed from the blood of powerful sea beasts. It was extremely rare, with a scarcity rivaling that of Sea Beast Essence Blood.
A single piece of Blood Crystal could sell for as much as 100 Sailing Coins!
"This is great! Our haul might even be bigger than the captain's party!"
Iron Tower looked at the glittering Blood Crystals before him, suppressed his excitement, and gave the order to start digging!
About thirty minutes later, the fifteen bamboo baskets the exploration team had brought were all filled. The sparkling Blood Crystals were more dazzling than gold, shimmering with an alluring light under the sun.
"Fourteen of you, come with me to haul the Blood Crystals back to the drifting ship. The rest of you, keep digging!"
"Shi Ming, you stay here! When I get back, I'll submit an application to the captain to make you an official member of the exploration team."
"I will do my utmost!"
Shi Ming put on a display of exceptional loyalty.
His eyes even showed immense gratitude and joy for the captain's recognition of his talent. He even felt like quoting a famous line: 'I, Ming, have wandered for half a life without finding a worthy master. I shall not fail you, Captain!'
But he worried the captain wouldn't understand.
After all, it was perfectly normal for people in the Wandering Era to be unfamiliar with certain old-world memes!
Digging for Blood Crystals didn't require much manpower, but transporting them did. The fifteen baskets required fifteen people. Fourteen team members, along with Captain Iron Tower, each shouldered a basket and headed back toward the drifting ship.
At that moment, only seven crew members remained at the deposit.
Shi Ming silently continued to mine. When the group that left had been gone for nearly twenty minutes, he suddenly attacked. He drew the saber—a melee weapon rewarded by his system—and struck down the two exploration team members beside him. Then, he switched weapons, pulling out a 92B-2037 model pistol equipped with a silencer.
The moment he gripped the pistol, he felt as if he had returned to the body and role of his past life.
The bullets were precise and deadly.
This was no time for mercy.
He didn't waste much time. He casually collected a large pile of the excavated Blood Crystals and then sprinted toward the fissure deep within the island.
His time was limited. He had to reach the fissure on Turtle Island before the captain returned, detonate the bomb, and awaken the sleeping Bloodthirsty Moths.
If anything went wrong along the way, his margin for error would be extremely low!
Fortunately, because he was very familiar with the route, Shi Ming reached the fissure nineteen minutes later.
His sense of time was extremely sharp. When he was focused, his time calculation was as precise as a stopwatch. He estimated that, given the exploration team's pace while carrying large baskets of Blood Crystals, they should have just arrived back at the drifting ship and started unloading.
He took the "Mimicry Dust" the bald man had given him from his system inventory. He pried open the Syringe Bottle's cap and smeared the powder all over his body.
To prevent any mishaps, he had also prepared a burrow in advance where he could hide from the Bloodthirsty Moths' attack. The burrow had a lid made of sturdy branches.
Once everything was ready, he took out the bomb's detonator and gently pressed the red button.
BOOM!
The Bomb of Fated Death exploded within the fissure.